In The Dark
by qpritchie1
Summary: Tristan Davis just moved to Forks after his parents' deaths. Maybe he can start a new life there, be somebody other than the guy who likes other guys. Maybe he'll be the guy that likes a certain werewolf. Jacob/OC MM Slash! RxR! Rated M for later chapters
1. Help, I'm Alive

**New Story! I was reading "Art of Imprinting" by The Orgasmic Uke (again) and got inspired to type up a new story. This one is Jacob/OMC. YAY! And it's set during Eclipse, so that's fun. Ok, let's go into the basics, shall we?**

**Story Summary: Tristan Davis just moved to Forks after his parents' deaths. He moves to Forks to live with his cousin, Allie, and her fiancee, Matt. After getting settled, he explores the town, where he meets Jacob Black. He is soon sucked up into the world of mystical creatures; the battle between vampires and werewolves.**

**Chapter Summary: Tristan moves to Forks in hope of starting off fresh after the cancerous death of his mother, Nadia, and his father, Victor's, suicide. He now lives with his cousin, Allie, and her fiancee, Matt. He settles into his new home in the only way he knows how; exploring his new environment.**

**Main Pairings: Jacob/OMC, Edward/Bella, Mike/Jessica, Angela/Eric, and so on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I wish I did, because I would never have recasted the role of Victoria to some random woman from the last Terminator movie...**

**A/N: The story will be told from my OC's point of view, as always. Definite AU and possibly some OOC. If there is, tell me so that I can fix it a bit.**

**Time to start, I suppose. Enjoy, and don't forget to review! =)**

**TWILIGHT**

As I exited the plane from San Francisco to Forks, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the feeling of uneasiness wash over me. I mean, I was starting a whole new life not a month after my parents' deaths. How can I recover from cancer and suicide? I could feel the tears in the back of my eyes start to form, but I quickly pushed them back as I saw a wisp of my cousin, Allie, near the gate's entry.

"Wow, kid. You grew up." Allie teased lovingly, pulling me into a tight hug. "I missed you."

"Hey, Alls. Missed you, too." I felt my heart stop as I realized how much she resembled my mother. The same black hair, the same chocolate brown eyes. I swear, she looked like a younger twin, or something. Then, I noticed a figure towering over her.

"Tristan, you remember my fiancee, Matt." She pulled back from our embrace and fell into Matt's. "Matt, I'm sure you remember him, too."

"Hey, Buddy." Matt greeted, reaching out his hand to give me a firm handshake. "Glad you're here."

After a few moments of awkward silence, we made our way to the airport parking lot, where their cobalt blue Ford Focus was.

The entire way, I couldn't help but gaze out the window, my thoughts referring back to wonderful memories of my mother and father. How she burnt almost everything she cooked and how he used to break everything he used. Sure, we were a dysfunctional family, but a family none the less. Or at least I thought we were. After my mother died of breast cancer, my father didn't view us as a family anymore. Instead, he decided life wasn't worth living anymore and took his own life using nothing but a box knife. I'll never forget coming home from school one day, seeing his body laying lifelessly on the kitchen floor.

I felt a tear stream down my cheek and brushed it away. I put it in the back of my mind and pulled out my camera from one of my bags and snapped a quick photo of the scenery outside the window as it started to rain. As the picture printed itself, I noticed something weird about it. There was a copper and red streak in between a few trees. I examined it more and made out a wolf form. Impossible, though. It had to be huge if it were true. Must be some printing problem. I continued to gaze out of the window, hoping to see that streak reappear.

It was no lie that Forks was absolutely beautiful. Maybe not to some, but I saw it. I'm the type of person that enjoys the rain and cloudy weather. I'm not really sure why, but I've always loved it. I'm not much of a sun person.

"Hey, Tristan," Allie started, pulling me out from my thoughts, "We're finally here."

We pulled into the driveway of a quaint, two-story house. It's walls were a crimson color and was speckled with a white trim around all the doors and windows.

"Your room is up there." Matt pointed to the second floor where a wide window was. Blinds covered the inside of the room, so the rest was still a surprise.

Matt and Allie led me to my room, Matt carrying some of my bags while I carried the majority. I walked into a beige room with hardwood flooring. I had a computer desk in a pocket of walls near my closet. My bedspread was a blood red that matched the outside of the house perfectly. It was a nice size, perfect for me.

"Wow, this is amazing you guys." I said as I plopped the bags onto the bed, making it creak slightly. "Thanks again for letting me stay with you." I felt sadness rush back as the thoughts of why I was really here flooded my head. I kept it from surfacing, though, as I kept a grateful smile on my face.

"You know we have no problem with that, Tristan." Allie said as she wrapped her slanky arms around the frame of her fiancee.

"Yeah, it'll be great." Matt reassured, his pine green eyes somewhat gleaming.

They left me to unpack, and I quickly put away all of my clothes. I set up my laptop at the computer desk and plugged it into the nearest outlet to charge. When I was done, I closed my closet door and saw a spot of green and gray on my bed. I quickly recognized it as the picture I had taken on the way here. I found some tape and posted it onto the wall behind my bed. I sighed deeply as I thought how it probably wouldn't be so bad. I mean, I could be anybody I want here, right? Maybe I don't have to be the guy who liked guys...period. Maybe I could be the guy who likes photography and music, and who coincidentally liked guys.

"Tristan, come downstairs. We have a surprise for you!" my cousin called from the bottom of the stairwell. I made a confused look at nothing specific and headed out my bedroom door and down the flight of carpeted stairs.

Matt and Allie were waiting outside, the front door wide opening, awaiting my arrival. They were smiling uncontrollably, making me feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Umm...what's going on, weirdos?"

"Call us weirdos again and you don't get your gift, nerd." Allie teased. My eyes lit up at the thought of a gift. You know, something to cheer me up. Maybe it was a new jacket or something like that.

"Here." Matt said before tossing me something, making a jingle as it hit my hands. I loosened my grasp on the foreign object in my palm and stared at it in disbelief.

"Your new car is across the street." Matt said, smiling at my reaction. Allie gestured to the black Saturn Ion parked on the other side of the road, near a path leading through the woods. I stood there, my mouth agape.

"Oh, my God. You guys, this is fucking unbelievable! Thank you so much!" I thanked as I hugged Allie furiously and awkwardly thanked Matt.

"Now, you don't have to wake us up in the morning when you go to school, which starts in a week, by the way. You made it just in time for the start of your Senior year." Allie informed me, leading us all back into the house.

"Fun...hey, mind if I get a feel for the town?" I asked, stopping to wait for my answer.

"Go ahead. Just be home by six. We're going to a neighbor's house for dinner; Charlie Swan." Matt said, taking a step into their house. I nodded and walked across the street and into my car. I got so excited just starting it up. It was so incredible to hear the sound of your own car starting up. I sighed gratefully and drove off.

**TWILIGHT**

I got out of my car and turned the alarm on, making it chirp. I decided to check out the downtown area; Port Angeles. There wasn't much on this street, though. A couple of restaurants, a few stores, and a movie theater. I decided to buy myself that jacket that I needed and went into one of the stores around the corner.

I opened the door, and a bell chimed, announcing my entrance. There were a couple of people there, browsing through the selection of clothing they had.

I decided to just buy a regular black jacket, trying it on in front of one of the mirrors near the changing rooms. I looked over the jacket and stared blankly at myself. I stared at my average build, I stared at my chestnut brown hair, and I stared at my sad brown eyes. I couldn't help but feel the need to cheer up, so I decided to buy myself that jacket and went to go see a movie.

The movie wasn't that bad. Funny and entertaining, definitely my type of film. As I walked out of one of the theaters, I disposed of my empty bag of popcorn. I glanced up and saw a girl with dark hair and glasses walk toward me.

"Hi. I'm Angela." she greeted, her friends standing not too far behind her. "We were just wondering if you were the new Senior at the high school..."

"Umm...yeah...?"

"Oh. Great! Do you want to hang out with us. You know, so you know a few kids going into school next week." I nodded gratefully as Angela led me to her friends. "That's Jessica, Mike, and my boyfriend, Eric." They all greeted me warmly, a small smile on each of their faces. Jessica was a short girl with light brown hair that was pulled back by a pink and white headband. She seemed somewhat snooty, though. But then again, maybe I shouldn't judge too quickly. Mike was the exact opposite, though. He had blonde hair and was quite a bit taller than her. He actually looked a lot friendlier. And then there was Eric, Angela's boyfriend. He had jet black hair, almost down to his chin. I could kind of already tell he was the clown of the group.

"So, you're the new kid." Jessica started, looking me up and down. "I was expecting somebody taller." Gee, thanks girl I just met. Insult me with the first thing that comes out of your mouth, why don't ya?

"Uhh...k..." I wasn't exactly sure how to respond without insulting her back, so I just kept my mouth shut about that.

"What's your name, anyways?" Mike asked me curiously, his bright blue eyes looking right at me.

"Tristan. Uhh...Davis. Tristan Davis." I said, smiling meekly at how nervous I was around them. They were friendly and all, but I wasn't exactly the best at meeting new people. I'm somewhat shy, but I'm definitely trying to change that. I mean, I need to in order to make friends here. A new life calls for a new me.

"Well, come on. We'll take you out to lunch, our treat." Angela said as she left my side and walked over to hug her boyfriend warmly. Then, I noticed that Jessica and Mike were holding hands. Seemed like everybody was coupled off besides me.

"That's okay...I mean, I don't want to be the fifth wheel or anything like that." I responded shyly, gazing down at absolutely nothing as my eyes scattered across the floor of the movie theater.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You won't feel like it. Trust us." Jessica said. Yeah...because you make it sound so incredibly reassuring as you gaze up at Mike like that. I can tell that she was totally in love with him, but he didn't seem all that interested. He seemed more like the relationship kind, and without one, he'd have to scramble for the closest girl that would take him...ergo Jessica.

"Anyways, I kind of have to get back. I'm going over a neighbor's house for dinner or something. My cousin planned it, so..."

"Oh, that's too bad. Hey, who's your neighbor?" Eric asked, slightly curious.

"Umm...Carley Swan or something like that..." I responded, having trouble remembering the name due to all the excitement at the time that it was said.

"Oh, _Charlie_ Swan." Angela corrected me, smiling at me. "He's a good guy. Chief of police and all. He has a daughter our age, too. Bella."

"Yeah," Mike started, looking rather disappointed by something, "We all used to hang with her, but then she kind of left us for another group. Now she hands with her creepy boyfriend and his family; The Cullens."

"Yeah, apparently they're all adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, but ever since they came here, they've all been together. Like...together, together." Jessica informed, a look of slight disgust upon her sharp features.

"Well, they're not related, so it's not like it's even that big of a deal..." I mumbled, my gaze still finding the floor the most interesting thing in the entire building.

"Yeah, but still...it's weird." Jessica stated, sounding slightly annoyed at my response to her thoughts.

"Alright, well...see you guys at school...or...something..." I said, waving them off as I walked out of the theater.

**TWILIGHT**

"Hey, I'm back." I called as I walked through the front door, sliding my keys down one of my side pockets on my pants. I went back upstairs to check out the directions to the high school. I searched 'Forks High Schools' and two schools popped up. Forks High School, obviously, and some other school by some 'La Push' scene...I don't know... "Hey, Alls?" I called out loudly, "can you come in here for a sec, please?"

After a few moments, she walked into my room, looking somewhat concerned about something. "Yeah, what's up?"

"How come I'm going to Forks High? There seems to be a school closer to the house in the opposite direction." I asked, slightly confused, yet curious as to why that was. I mean, it'd be a lot easier if it were closer to just go there.

"Oh, that one is kind of a private school. They don't let just anybody in." Allie informed me as she scrolled down the school's website. "Actually, Charlie's best friend's son goes there. Maybe Charlie might know something about it if you want to try and go there. I mean, it is closer, right?"

"Nah," I exclaimed, "I don't want to go if it's going to be some snooty little private school. I've had enough snootiness for one day, thank you." I said, remembering back to Jessica and her attitude toward me and everybody else she hasn't known for years. Allie just chuckled at me, not knowing what I meant by what I had said.

"Alright, well get ready. We're leaving in about half an hour." she said as she walked across my room to my bedroom door. "And you might want to shower. You smell like fake butter and licorice." she teased as she turned the corner, into the hallway leading down to her and Matt's room. I grinned lightly and grabbed some clean clothes before heading across the hall to the only bathroom with a shower.

**TWILIGHT**

"So, you're Tristan. I heard a lot of good things about you." Charlie Swan greeted me as he gestured for the three of us to enter his house. It was a modest-sized home. Perfect for just him and his daughter. "This is my daughter, Bella." he introduced, pointing at a slightly pale girl with deep brown hair and mud brown eyes. She looked tired, like she had been working all day or something like that.

"Hi," she greeted shyly, waving at me with one, single motion, pursing her lips together. My cousin, her fiancee, and the chief of police all left to talk in the family room to the left of the front door, leaving Bella and I to awkwardly talk to each other.

"So..." I said uncomfortably, shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"So...Umm...err...do you go to Forks High?" Bella asked as we walked to the kitchen.

"Uhh...yeah. Just moved here...California." I informed her as I sat myself down on one of the chairs that were placed around the white dining table.

"Oh, cool. I bet the weather sucks compared to there."

"Not really. I'm more of a rainy, gray and gloomy weather type of guy, you know?" I said, gesturing with my hands. "You?"

"Mm...not so much..." she said, quickly losing all momentum of the start to a conversation. Luckily, we were saved by the other three joining me and Bella at the table. Bella served us all, which felt a little weird. I feel weird with people doing stuff for me like that.

**TWILIGHT**

"Ugh..."I groaned loudly as we entered the house. "Never take me to that house again without a gun to my head, would ya?" I exclaimed, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a chilled bottle of water out of the fridge.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Matt chuckled lightly while putting his and Allie's coat into the hall closet near the front door.

"Are you kidding? It was incredibly awkward when you guys just left me there with some girl I don't know. I mean, we couldn't even get through a proper conversation without it ending uncomfortably." I complained, taking a quick sip from the plastic container in my hands. "I need to do something. I think I'm going to take my camera and explore some more." I said before rushing upstairs to grab my camera, my professional one. The other was just for quick artwork. This one involved time and effort...and a laptop to do all that kind of work for me.

I walked back down that staircase and exited through the front door, locking it behind me. I got into my new car and as I reached over to put on my seat belt when I saw the path leading through the woods. I decided to explore through it, grabbing a flashlight out of the house before returning to the entrance to the deep set of trees that might even go on for miles.

After about half an hour, I started to hear the crash of waves and I started to smell the ocean. I smiled, knowing I must have been close to the shore. Sure enough, past a few more pairs of thick trunk trees I saw a clearing of the shore, the waves clashing into the billions upon billions grains of sand. I snapped a quick picture, making sure to get a couple of tree branches into the shot. I looked over my shot on the camera and noticed that I didn't just take a picture of the beach and a few wooden branches, but of a guy. He was just standing there, staring out into the ocean. Out into the full moon that clung to the sheet of night, speckled with bright stars, some dull, some flickering furiously.

I didn't want to disturb the guy, so I decided to head back into the woods. As I did, I heard a branch snap from underneath my feet. I winced, hoping he was too deep into thought to even hear it. No such luck, though. He swiftly turned toward me.

"Hello?" he had called out questioningly, his voice a deep rumble compared to the soft sound of the waves crashing amongst the shoreline. I stepped out from behind a tree and smiled at him nervously.

"Sorry...I didn't know anybody would be here." I said apologetically as I pursed my lips awkwardly. He just kind of gazed over at me, his eyes locked onto mine. My heart fluttered slightly, but I ignored it.

"That's...umm...that's alright. I mean...public place and everything, right?" he chuckled nervously, his entire body now facing me. Wow, he was unbelievably tall. Well over six feet.

"Right...well, I'm gonna..." I started, gesturing back at the path leading into the woods.

"Oh, you don't have to. I mean, I could go if you want..." he offered, sounding slightly disappointed.

"No, really. It's fine." I chuckled lightly, my eyes now looking over his bare torso. Not only was he tall, but he was incredibly built. Six-pack and everything! "You were here first. Only fair that you get to stay here rather than me. I was just exploring, anyway." I continued, my hands now deep in my hoodie pockets, fiddling with a nonexistent item that was buried inside them. "New here and all..."

"From where?" he blurted out swiftly, grinning slightly.

"Umm...California." I informed him, slowly moving down the small hill that separated the forest and the beach.

"Nice...warm weather, short-sleeved shirts. It's a luxury compared to here."

"I don't know, I kind of like it here. The rain was always kind of peaceful to me." We were now just a few feet away from each other and I had to crane me neck up quite a bit just to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, it can do that sometimes." Then, he looked toward the forest as if he were being called, but the only noise was the body of water we were so close to. "Umm...I have to go. I just realized how late it was." he smiled apologetically, his hand rubbing the back of his jet black hair.

"Oh..." I was disappointed and felt a tinge of hurt. "Alright. Nice meeting you." I said truthfully before starting my way back to the open region of the forest that lead back to the path.

"Hey, what's your name, anyways?" he asked me, sounding somewhat rushed.

"Tristan. You?" I asked curiously, now facing him once again.

"Jacob." he smiled in a friendly manner. I turned back around and went down the path leading back to my new home.

I stumbled down the path, tripping over a few things that I didn't initially catch with my flashlight, but I never fell. Luckily, I made it back home without doing so. It was late, so I quietly slipped through the door and put the flashlight back. I made my way up to my room, closing my bedroom door behind me, and took out my camera and plugged it into my laptop to upload my pictures. Up came the only picture I took; the one of Jacob. I clicked 'print' and gently took the freshly printed paper and posted it onto the back of my bed, where my other picture was pinned up. I smiled fondly at the scene. It was truly beautiful. It was just the wave-stricken shore, the moonlight rippling through the dips in the water. And there he was, his silhouette barely noticeable. His features were gently bathed in moonlight.

I quickly felt stupid for even taping up a picture of a guy I just met onto my bedroom wall and crumpled the page up and threw it into the trash bin near my desk. I sighed deeply and plopped onto my bed, the sudden feel of exhaustion overwhelming me. I got dressed into a pair of loose, gray sweats and lay on my bed. I slowly closed my eyes into slumber, but the image of my parents quickly made it's way into my thoughts. I just lay there, my eyes wide open, before I suddenly started sobbing heavily. It was too much, to lose both of my parents like that. What was even worse was that one of them was by choice, but I missed them equally, the memories of them taking over all other thoughts. I felt the stream of tears rush down both sides of my face as I reminisced silently. The only noise that could be heard was a random intake of air every now and then to suppress full-out, fetal-position, ramblings-of-nothing-in-particularly-coherent, sobbing.

I've cried myself to sleep every night since the death of my mother, and even harder after the suicide of my father, so this was nothing new I was experiencing. It's just that every time I close my eyes, there they are, staring back at me lovingly in whatever random memory of them I managed to conjure up. The pain was great enough to lose one parent, but to lose both? It was completely unbearable. Yet here I was, bearing it like nothing ever happened. It's the only thing I could manage without showing how torn up I was about all of it, and I didn't need anybody trying to comfort me and saying that everything would be okay, because I knew that it wouldn't...not without them.

**TWILIGHT**

**So what'd you guys think? Too angsty? Too unrealistic? Let me know what you think and if I should continue =) Review please!**


	2. Walking On A Dream

**Hey, everybody! Thank you to everybody that reviewed and put it on alert and all that other good stuff. I really REALLY appreciate it. Sorry that it took me a bit to update this. Holidays and procrastination...not a good combination lol. =**

**Remember, this story is completely inspired by "Art of Imprinting," so I'd like to thank the author, The Orgasmic Uke, for writing such an incredible story. You deserve all the credit ^_^**

**Anyways, here is chapter 2 of In The Dark. Hope you guys enjoy. RxR, please! =)**

**im rad bby – Thank you so much. Hope you like this chapter, too! **

**Sunny Opitmism – Wow, thank you so much! I'm glad you love it so much. And yeah, "Art of Imprinting," is pretty damn amazing lol.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anybody from the Twilight Saga. That all belongs to the wonderful and magical Stephenie Meyer. However, I do own Tristan and all other OC's.**

**Chapter Summary: Tristan finally makes his way to Forks High School for the first time. There, he meets his future friends and everything like that. After school, he hangs out with them so he could get to know them a bit more. Will he see Jacob anytime in this chapter? I guess you'll just have to read and find out! ;) **

**_LOADS_ of angst later on in this chapter, so just keep that in mind.**

**A/N: Links to pictures of who I see as the characters are on my profile. Go check them out! Also, every one of the Cullens is a senior, along with Bella and Mike's group of friends. And finally, the chapters will be named after song titles and they will be mentioned in my author notes, but they won't actually be in the story. They are just songs that kind of relate to the certain chapter.**

**Chapter 1: "Help, I'm Alive" by Metric**

**Chapter 2: "Walking On A Dream" by Empire Of The Sun**

**TWILIGHT**

Oh, God. First day at a new school, that's never fun. I mean, I'm already big news and I haven't even started yet. How else would a bunch of classmates I've never even met know about me going? I must already be "the boy who has no parents," or "the guy whose father committed suicide after his mother died of cancer." You know, something along those lines.

Allie and Matt have been great, and everything, but it's definitely not the same. I miss my parents so much that it pains me just to remember them. I've sobbed myself to sleep every night since their deaths. Allie found out one night when I was a tiny bit too loud. She said that I should meet with a psychologist who specializes in mourning, but I'm not too sure about that shit. I'm not really one for pouring my heart out to a complete stranger.

After I got ready for school, grabbing my bag, cell, and iPod, I headed downstairs to grab a glass of juice before heading out. As I walked down the staircase, I could smell something burning. I rushed quickly, turning the corner, only to see Allie pull out a tray of charcoal-black muffins from the oven. She groaned loudly and plopped the tray down in exasperation onto the counter, making the tin boom throughout the house.

"God, the fucking timer didn't go off..." Allie cursed, ripping off her oven mitts as she stared at her failed attempt at breakfast.

"Allie, I love you for going to the trouble of doing all this, but you really don't have to make me breakfast, or any meal for that matter. I'm a big boy, I can make myself something." I smiled at her gratefully, heading to the fridge to grab the carton of orange juice and pouring it into a plastic cup, taking a quick swig as Allie continued to stare at the muffins in disappointment. "Matt already at work?"

"Yeah, he decided to open up early today." Matt ran his own restaurant; The Safe House. It was doing incredibly well, too. From what I hear, everybody in Forks has been there at one time or another. He's not the one that cooks, though. His head chef, Ian, takes care of all that. Matt is just the business portion of the place.

"Oh, alright. Tell him I'll be there to help him around four or five. I have to go." I said, hugging her good-bye. "Just...don't worry about the muffins. If you want, you might want to use a radiation reader for those things to see if they might kill us all." I teased before walking out the front door, only to hear a loud scoff come from the kitchen. I chuckled lightly and made my way across the street and entered my car.

**TWILIGHT**

I pulled into the school parking lot. I could already feel the eyes of many students as I got out of my car. I wasn't sure how to get to the office, but I decided to just wing it and not draw even more attention to myself.

After about five minutes of wandering around the school campus, I saw a sign that pointed to the main office.

I entered and went up to the secretary and asked for my schedule. She smiled kindly at me, her plump face friendly and kind. She went through each class on the list and gave me a map of the school. I thanked her and was on my way to explore the rest of the school for the fifteen minutes we had left before class started. As I wandered, I felt as if everybody were whispering about me. About me, about my life, about my past. Just...everything.

As I avoided anybody's gaze, I failed to look in front of me in time to bump into somebody on skateboard, landing both of us on our asses.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry. I really should have watched where I was going." I apologized frantically, trying to get the girl back on her feet.

"Don't worry about it, it was my first time on a skateboard and I should have known that school was definitely not the place to do this." she chuckled lightly as she took my hand and let me pull her up. "You're the new kid. Tristan, right?" she asked me curiously.

"Was there, like, some memo about me that I missed, or something?" I joked lightly as I shifted my backpack higher onto my shoulder. She chuckled softly as she brushed her jacket sleeves from any raindrops that landed on her since it started sprinkling.

"I think there was a parade, too." she teased, her hazel eyes showed a sign of entertainment. "I'm Zoey, by the way. Here, come meet my friends." She grabbed my forearm and dragged me to where four people were sitting.

"That's Caz, Emma, Reed, and Hannah." Caz was a goofy looking guy with wavy blonde hair and blue-gray eyes. Zoey went and sat next to him, snuggling into his side. Obviously, her boyfriend. Emma was a sweet looking girl with dark red hair and deep brown eyes. She smiled at me, returning to her conversation with the girl next to her; . Hannah was a spunky girl with short, surfer-boy type blonde hair. She seemed pretty nice, though. And finally, Reed. He was, by far, the hottest guy I've seen at this school. He had curly, dirty blonde hair and really nice green eyes. He nodded at me, smiling softly. "Guys, this is Tristan" Zoey introduced, still sitting beside Caz.

"Finally! The new guy!" Caz exclaimed rather loudly, attracting attention of nearby students. "What's up, New Guy?" he asked me rather bluntly. The rest of the group just laughed along.

"Uhh...not much...?" I answered awkwardly. "Are you guys all seniors, too?"

"Ah, senior life. Privileges we couldn't manage to have as freshmen, sophomores, hell, even as juniors." Hannah answered sarcastically, making me laugh softly.

"That, and we all get to get out of this storm cloud-infested town at the end of the school year." Emma added, her tone following Hannah's.

"So, where'd you move from, T?" Caz asked, already giving me my very own nickname. I couldn't help but smile at how open they were to me already.

"San Francisco. Not much change in weather, but it's whatever." I gestured toward Emma, who nodded along knowingly.

"Oh, Reed moved from Cali a few years back." Zoey added, Caz's shoulder slung over her small frame.

"Yeah, uhh...Santa Barbara." Reed answered, looking up at me from a sketchpad.

"Is that...close?" Caz asked curiously, a little confused at where the cities were located. Reed and I both chuckled at him.

"They're over three hundred miles apart." Reed informed him, laughing at his friend heartily.

"Again...is that close?" Caz asked once more, now the entire group of people were laughing.

"Try a four-hour car ride." Hannah teased, making us all, including Caz, laugh. As we all had a good time, the first bell rang.

"Shit...school." Emma groaned loudly, picking up her bookbag from one of the stairs next to her.

"Hey, T, what class you got first?" Reed asked me, putting his sketchbook into his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Umm..." I began, digging for the schedule in my back pocket. Pack of gum...no. Chapstick...no. There it is! I pulled it out and went with the first class on the list of classes. "Chem with...Kineya...?"

"We're three in the same, T." Zoey said, gesturing to Reed. She dragged both of us along, each in one of her hands. I just looked over at Reed and chuckled. He returned it with a small smile and looked forward as we both had Zoey let go of us and we walked beside her.

**TWILIGHT**

End of school, already. It actually went by pretty fast. I had Zoey in most of my classes; 4 out of 7. And the others classes had at least two of the five people I made friends with today. Reed was only in Chemistry with me, though. Too bad, he seemed pretty cool. Not a problem to have some eye candy in my classes.

Angela was in some of my classes, too. We talked, and I introduced her to some of the friends I had made; whichever were in that current class. I didn't have classes with any of Angela's friends, though. I'm just happy that I had her, because she seems like she could be a really good friend to have. Hell, they all did.

As the six of us were hanging out in the parking lot, I noticed a group of people hanging out by a couple of cars. In fact, I noticed Bella Swan there.

"That's Bella Swan, right?" I pointed discreetly at the pale girl with other students who were just as pale, if not more.

"That'd be her. Don't get any ideas, though. Her and her boyfriend, Edward, are, like, joined at the hip or something." Zoey said as she snacked on a few chips Caz had brought to share.

"Trust me, I wasn't. She's definitely not my type." _Because I love guys,_ my head screamed. I wanted to say something, but at the same time, I wasn't sure if I should. I'm not sure how they would take it, though. I mean, it's a pretty small town. Perhaps run by some bible-thumping church group. I couldn't take the risk of having friends and then losing them all in the matter of six hours. "So, who are the rest."

"Mmph," Caz exclaimed, muffled by a handful of chips being shoved into his mouth. "Rosalie is the blonde chick."

"Didn't she turn you down sophomore year...?" Hannah mumbled teasingly, giving him a playful look.

"I know! Crazy, right?" Caz joked, hugging his girlfriend, who nodded along while rolling her eyes.

"The big, bear-like one is Emmett. Him and Rosalie are a couple." Emma added in, sitting on the hood of Reed's truck.

"Yeah, the thought of them having fucking disturbs me. It looks like he might snap her in half, or something like that." Hannah said, making us all burst into laughter.

"Jasper's the really creepy-looking one. I swear, he looks like he wants to shoot up the school or something." Zoey teased, resting her chin on Caz's shoulder, a small smile on her face. Her black hair was flowing in the gentle wind, her two blonde streaks blowing with it.

"And that tiny, pixie-looking girl is Alice. She apparently likes the creepy look considering they're together."

"Really? They seem so...opposite. I mean, he's all scared-looking and murderous while she's all peppy and friendly...I don't get it."

"Well...opposites attract, I guess." Reed added while he moved from leaning on his truck to grabbing a few chips from the bag Hannah was holding.

"I guess..." I mumbled, still glancing over at Bella's group of friends. Something was different about them, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Hey, I got to go. I promised my cousin's fiancee I'd help him out at his restaurant." I informed them, facing my five new friends. They all said their good-byes and promises to hang out again tomorrow morning.

As I got into my car, I realized that for the first time since my parents' deaths, I'm a tiny bit happy.

**TWILIGHT**

I got out of my car and went through the doors of 'The Safe House.' They were incredibly packed, but I was told this was usually the pace. The crowd was a mix of all types. The old, the young, the middle-aged.

"Tristan!" Matt called from behind one of the counters. "We're a little shorthanded, today, so we're going to need you. Here," He handed me a tray of lemonades and Cokes, taking me by surprise, "I need you to take these to the booth in the back." I nodded slowly, hoping that I wouldn't do anything stupid along the way.

I slipped through crowd of tables and booths and found the booth. It was seated with a bunch of guys who were joking kind of loudly. It didn't bother me considering their noise blended in with the noise of the busy restaurant; the clamor of conversations, silverware hitting plates and tables, and the frantic noise of chefs cooking in the back of the restaurant.

"Here you guys go. Who had the lemonades?" I asked calmly. Two guys in the corner of the booth gestured and I gave them their drinks. "Cokes?" Three other guys signaled themselves and I passed them their glasses, placing them on coasters. "And Mountain Dew?" I asked as the last drink was still on my tray.

"Here." I familiar voice said. I looked over and saw the same guy from last night; Jacob. He was giving that same smiirk that instantly made my heart do backflips, but again, I put it in the back of my mind.

"Oh, hey Jacob. What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Umm...to eat." he chuckled. I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. I know he didn't mean anything by it, but I felt stupid to ask what he was doing here, a restaurant, where they usually serve food. "I chuckled lightly, hoping not to show my own embarrassment.

"Right, right. Sorry." I tried to recover, failing miserably as the others at the table rumbled with chuckles.

"Oh, right. Tristan, this is Embry, Quil, Sam, Jared, and Paul." Jared and Sam were the ones who ordered the lemonades and Embry, Quil, and Paul ordered the Cokes. They all looked somewhat similar. Same tan skin, same cropped black hair. Jacob was the only person that looked different, but I couldn't really tell why. He had the same look as the rest of them, but he stood out. I grinned at them and they returned it.

"So...I answered your question. What are _you_ doing here?" Jacob asked curiously. I was still gazing down at him, which was probably a little creepy for him, so I averted my eyes to Matt.

"Umm...I'm helping out the owner. He needed some help, so I decided to be that help." I grinned uncomfortably at the words coming out of my mouth. I couldn't seem to say the right things around him. It was like word vomit or something, but with lame words only.

"Oh, that's cool. Matt's a good guy." Sam said from his place, taking a swig of his lemonade. I nodded knowingly and rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably.

"So, I was kind of wond--" Jacob started but was interrupted by the voice of Matt from across the room.

"Tristan, we need you back over here."

"Alright, guys. Enjoy your drinks. I think your waiter should be here soon...unless they aren't...here..." I winced slightly at my horrible joke. Hell, I don't even know if it should be considered a joke. God, what's wrong with me? I rushed to where Matt was and continued to help him with the customers.

I didn't talk to Jacob again. I only glanced over at him a few times as he laughed along with his friends. His smile was infectious. I found myself doing the same, not even knowing what was so funny. Then, I saw him leave. As I glanced at him and his friends exiting, I think he glanced over at me, too. I'm not sure because I almost dropped a tray of food, but I think I saw it out of the corner of my eye. Maybe it wasn't true, though.

**TWILIGHT**

I drove back home around seven when it died down a little bit. It was pouring outside so I rushed out from my car and into the house, backpack slung over my left shoulder as I practically sprinted across the street.

"Allie, I'm home." I called out. I heard the sound of the shower coming from upstairs, so she must have been taking one. I went up the stairs and into my room, unloading the contents of my bad onto the desk. I grabbed a textbook from the shelf and began to do my homework. Every few minutes, my eyes always wandered distractedly to the wastebasket next to my desk. I could still see a tinge of the image I crumpled up last night. I couldn't help but think about Jacob again. The way he smiled and how he laughed, it was intoxicating. Damn it, why do I keep liking straight guys?! Same thing happened back in San Francisco, and I always had my heart broken. I have to learn that it's not possible for a straight guy to like another guy. Not like that, anyway.

I managed to finish my homework when Allie entered my room in a fluffy blue bathrobe, toweling off her damp hair.

"Hey, Tristan. How was your first day?" she asked me curiously as she sat down on my bed.

"Not bad, actually. I already made some friends, so that's good." I mentioned distractedly, still gazing down at the balled up piece of paper.

"Aww, my social little butterfly is finally spreading its wings, I see." Allie teased as she made her way out my door. "Ah, they grow up so fast."

"Too bad we can't say the same thing about you, Allie." I joked back, holding back a chuckle. She poked her head back into my room and looked at me with a small look of both annoyance and entertainment.

"Shut it, nerd, and do your homework." she grinned slightly, her hair lashing against the wall, leaving a small, wet streak against the door frame.

**TWILIGHT**

It was about ten o' clock and I decided to see if Jacob was going to be at the beach again, tonight. Since it stopped raining, all I needed was a thin jacket to keep me warm.

I made my way down the path and could already smell the salt from the ocean and I could hear the call of seagulls.

I peeked through the trees and sure enough, there he was, in the same place he was yesterday, but this time he was looking in my direction, almost searching.

"Tristan." His face lit up as he spotted me, his eyes glistening with glee. My heart skipped a beat as I saw how happy he was to see me. I smiled back at him and walked toward him.

"Hey, Jacob. Here again, huh?" I rubbed my arms because it got colder since I was so to the shore. I wasn't really sure why Jacob wasn't freezing his ass off. He was only in a pair of black sweats that cut off at his ankle.

"Here." He wrapped his arms around me and my breath hitched. He was so incredibly warm, it was as if he had just come out from a sauna or something.

"Wha—Jacob you're burning up." I exclaimed, trying to pull away from him but didn't succeed due to my lack of effort and because he was pulling me close to his tall frame.

"Sssh," he hushed lightly, cupping my chin gently. "That's just who I am."

"What do you mean who you--" I was quieted as Jacob pressed his lips on mine. Fireworks went off and a parade was going on behind us. It was absolutely amazing. I moaned into the kiss and grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer. He nibbled my bottom lip and my eyes fluttered closed in pure bliss as his tongue lapped at where he had bit. Then, the shore crashed unbelievably loudly, making us both turn toward the ocean.

**TWILIGHT**

"Tristan." Allie nudged me awake. I groaned loudly as I adjusted myself in my seat. "Get up. You fell asleep while doing homework. Must have been math," she chuckled lightly.

"You guessed right." I grinned lightly. I was a bit groggy as I looked at the clock. Ten o' clock. "Umm...I'm all done, anyway. I think I'm going to go take some pictures.

"Are you joking? It's late. You have school in the morning" She looked at me, stone-faced. Then, she burst into laughter, causing me to do so, too. "Who am I kidding? Just don't get killed." She patted my head jokingly and left my room. I chuckled softly and gathered up my homework and put it into my backpack as I grabbed my iPod and put my earphones in.

**TWILIGHT**

I could sense everything about the scene, just like in my dream. I smiled to myself, hoping that it could come true. I looked through the branches of the trees and briefly saw a figure through them. I crossed the point where sand met moss and tried to remember back to what I had said in my dream.

"You're here _again_, Ja—" I looked up and found that it wasn't Jacob I saw through the limbs of the tree, but a gigantic wolf. I gasped as it looked at me. This thing was huge. I had to run, but I didn't want it to chase me down and eat me. Could wolves smell fear? I bet they can smell fear. My mind was racing a mile a minute, frantically trying to find a way to leave without dying a painful and gruesome death by a wolf four times the size of a regular one. My knees started to give away when it slowly made it's way to me, never looking away from my gaze.

I couldn't help but notice the copper-red fur that it sported. It was the same color as the one in my photo above the bed. Could it be that this is what was in the picture?

It slowly came to a stop about three feet away from me. Expecting it to attack, I closed my eyes in total, paralyzing fear, hoping that my death would be as quick and as painless as possible. Then, I heard a small thump. I opened my eyes cautiously to find it laying down in front of me. My head was spinning in all these confusing thoughts as it still gazed up at me. I just stood there, unable to move due to both confusion and fear as it continued to look up at me...lovingly? I backed away slowly and made my way as far as the mossy layout underneath my feet before it reacted. It...whined. It whined that I was leaving. But...why?

I looked back at it and it just looked at me with sadness in its eyes. Why the fuck do I have to be an animal lover?! I sighed heavily and walked back to it cautiously. It's tail wagged wildly in response, making me smirk. It was actually kind of cute. I slowly made my way to him and he rolled over playfully, making me jump back a little bit. He never took his eyes off of me That's right, 'he.' Rolling over gave me some information.

I sat down about four feet away from him and he got to his feet, making me pull back. All he did was walk closer to me and lay his head on my knee. His head was absolutely massive. Three times as big as my knee, at least.

I cautiously rubbed the top of his head, making his tail wag even harder. A breeze sneaked up on me by surprise, causing me to shiver. He got up once more, this time I wasn't afraid in the least. He laid down behind me, wrapping my body in his. He was unbelievably warm, too.

"You can't be real..." I mumbled. It was at such a low volume, but he still managed to hear it. He got up and lay down in front of me again. He looked at me in disbelief, almost as if he were saying, 'but I'm right here...' "No...I need to see that mourning counselor. I can't believe they're causing me to hallucinate, now. God, this is so fucked up." I mumbled in disbelief as tears stung the back of my eyes. I could feel my chin start to tremble slightly. "I'm turning into a fucking mental case. Hear that, Dad?! I'm here, imagining a giant wolf because of you! Because you were a fucking selfish prick that left me here all alone!" I yelled into the sky, causing nearby birds to fly off, leaves rustling in their absence. My tears were now helplessly streaming down my face.

I got up in anger, and rushed off the beach and into the forest. I could hear the wolf's light footsteps following me. I ignored it, knowing it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I saw the clearing up ahead that lead to the street. I looked back one last time before exiting the forest. He was there, hovering behind me with sadness in his eyes. He sat there, waiting for what I would do next. It was almost as if he were protecting me. It's impossible, though. Something that's part of my imagination can't protect me. I stormed out from the forest and crossed the street, fighting the urge to burst into tears. I could save that for when I was alone.

I rushed upstairs and silently closed my door right before the sobs seeped out from within me. I tried to muffle it using pillows and blankets, but it wasn't helping at all. The pain was much too great for me to handle. And I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't. Instead, I lay in my bed, internally thrashing violently, trying to suppress the emotions that spilled from inside of me. Next thing I knew, Allie came rushing in and pulled me into her embrace, trying to calm me down. I only sobbed even harder.

"I need...to see...a mourning...counselor." I choked out. It was barely audible due to how the sobs stopped me from talking too clearly. She just nodded frantically. I could feel her start to cry softly along with me.

I pulled myself together long enough so that Allie could go back to her fiancee, who I'm sure was waiting for her. After she left, I was just completely exhausted, physically and emotionally. And even though I was, I could still feel the tears forming behind my eyes from it's limitless supply of emotion, but I managed to finally fall asleep some time in the wee hours of the morning.

**TWILIGHT**

**I really hope you guys liked it. It was a bit angsty, I know, but it's definitely meant to be. Dealing with the suicide of a loved one is an emotional process, especially if it's a parent, so I want my readers to understand the raw emotion that it unleashes. Hopefully, it got the point across.**

**I want to say thank you, again, for reading. I know that it's a total emotional roller coaster at this point, but it'll get happier, I promise. =)**

**Leave your reviews and I'll love you forever! 3**


	3. With A Little Help From My Friends

**A/N - Hey, it's me again! It's New Years' Eve and I thought I would update before I'm too hungover to want to type lol. Anyways, here is the third chapter to "In The Dark." Apparently you guys like it so far, and I want to thank everybody for reviewing, story alerting, favoriting, etc. I REALLY appreciate it. It truly makes my day. The emails are saved in a folder lol. I'm getting more reviews in these past two chapters than I have in the past seven chapters of my "One Tree Hill" story, probably because us Twilighters love to give feedback lol. But yeah, hope you guys enjoy this chapter =) Happy Holidays!**

**Chapter 3 – "With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Beatles**

**attagrl – Oh, I know, I'm really sad how there aren't many Jacob/OMC's. It makes me sad lol. But hopefully, there will be an uprise when the "New Moon" DVD comes out...hopefully XD**

**StoicCrying – Thank you SOOO mcuh! I'm really ecstatic that I'm getting such good feedback on this story. Well...I picture Matt a tiny bit less scruffy, but still somewhat scruffy lol. And the link to Caz's pic is fixed, so if you want, you can go ahead and check it out! Also, I don't plan on switching perspectives, but his thoughts will definitely be mentioned once Tristan gets to know him a little better. And you should definitely put your ideas out there. It took me a year to finally post this story lol. But, definitely type your ideas up, I'm sure they're great. Plus, you never know who's gonna fall in love with your work, ya know? ^_^**

**Pace1818 – First off, Jessica fan??? I mean, I'm a fan of Anna Kendrick, but I don't know...Jessica...I don't know lol But I have to warn you that there MIGHT be some Jessica bashing in the future, but I'm not sure. We'll just see how it goes. And yeah, I actually got the "crazy" idea from "The Art of Imprinting," but definitely made it more angsty and stuff, so hopefully it was a good addition to the story lol.**

**Sunny Opitmism – Well, I got all teary-eyed just writing it lol. I mean, I've never experienced something as painful as a suicide of a loved one or death of a parent, or in Tristan's case; both, but just imagining it can bring me to tears on cue lol.**

**Chapter Summary – Tristan goes to see his counselor for the first time and opens up a little bit about his parents. Also, the gang finds out about Tristan's past. How are they going to react? **

**Sorry guys, no sexy-ass Jacob this chapter, just mentions =( Hopefully, you still enjoy this friendship chapter, though! ^_^**

**T W I L I G H T**

"So, tell me Tristan...how exactly are you making the transition?" my new mourning counselor asked. It was my first appointment here and honestly, I was a little intimidated. Like I've said before, I'm not one to spill my guts to a total stranger, but if that's what it takes to make me sane again, then it's worth it. No longer will I sob myself to sleep, see giant, playful wolves, but most of all, worry my cousin. I hate being such a burden on her, and I honestly have no idea why my father left me in her custody when he committed suicide. I mean, my aunt lived no more than twenty miles away, and my uncle was half of that.

"...Transition? Like...from San Francisco to Forks, or...?" I knew what she meant but I couldn't bare myself to actually say it. I've never really talked about this to anybody before, so I don't know if I would struggle with it or if it would feel like a huge weight would be lifted off my shoulders.

"No, I mean the transition from being a son to being a cousin." Dr. Hitchens answered coldy, the wrinkles on her face showing no emotion.

"I'm still a son, I never stopped being one and I never will, nor have they stopped being my parents. Just because they're not here doesn't mean they never existed." I snapped angrily, my arms entwined across my chest in frustration. I just glared at her with fire in my eyes. How could she respond so stoically to a teenager who has lost both of his parents?

"I apologize, I did not mean anything by it. I just want to know how you're dealing with your loss." she said, still the same stoic expression across her face as she adjusted herself in her seat, writing something onto her notepad. Probably talking about aggression or some shit like that.

"Not well, I guess. I keep...picturing them...their best moments; our moments. But I also picture them, their...lifeless bodies. It can't...it can't get out." I struggled to announce, my voice breaking slightly as the memories rushed into my thoughts, playing as a video in my brain.

"Now, do you focus on their deaths or their lives?" she asked, flipping her red hair out of her face in the process. She looked so...comfortable with this. Like a death of a family member was bearable, but it isn't, not really.

"Both? I mean, I just remember who they were..." I swallowed hard, struggling with the conversation, "...are..." I corrected, "who they _are_, and it always reverts back to seeing them motionless...breathless." I felt myself start to choke up, so I focused on what was outside the window. Nothing special, just cars passing by and people walking up and down the sidewalks.

"Well, that's a normal part of seeing your parents like that. Before our times is up here, I want you to do something. I want you to promise me that you're going to spend one day without getting into any deep thoughts about your parents."

"I honestly don't think I can promise that. I mean, every time I'm alone, it just happens." I admitted, still looking out the window to keep myself from breaking down in front of a complete stranger.

"Then, don't be alone." she responded, as if it were the easiest answer known to man. But it wasn't that easy. I'm not one for asking people for stuff, either. So, asking somebody to spend the night with me is way too much.

"It's not that simple, I—"

"But it is. Ask a friend, or even your cousin, to stay with you so that you won't be forced to deal with the silence." she explained while she cleaned the lenses on her glasses and put them back to frame her face.

"That's not the point. I know _how_ to do it, but my friends don't know about them, so explaining to them how I want one of them to spend the night after only a week is a bit much, and as for my cousin, it would only worry her, and I'm not about to let her be even more stressed out about the situation." I said, gazing up at the clock and noticed our time was up. I got up from my seat, causing the leather to squeak slightly. I smiled politely at her and told her I'd be back again next week. She stopped me before walking out the door.

"Just...think about it, ok? It might be essential." I only nodded, but I probably wouldn't do it. I mean, Allie has enough to worry about and my friends don't even know my story yet. I don't know how I'm going to go through with this.

**T W I L I G H T**

The next morning, I got up kind of early; six o' clock. I tried going back to sleep, but I couldn't. It's weird because I spent most of the night typing up a report for English. I got three hours of sleep, maybe. Tops. I just couldn't bring myself to go back to sleep, so I just decided to lay there. I tried my best not to think of them, but I was failing miserably. Although, this time, I kept myself from crying. That's progress, I suppose...right?

Before I realized it, my alarm was going off. Seven o' clock. Time to get up and get ready for another day at school. I was just happy it was Friday. It felt like a pretty long week even though it was my first. I got to know my friends a little better, so that was good. But, I haven't seen Jacob since Monday. I helped out Matt at his restaurant all week, but he never came back in. I was always waiting, hoping, that he would walk through those doors again. It's silly, I know. Liking a straight guy that can never like you back, but it was hard not to. I mean, I was always that way. I'm not really attracted to effeminate guys, so I keep hoping that the straight crushes I have suddenly turn, at least, bi. But that never happened. In my dreams, it did, but never in real life. It was just wishful thinking, and that's all.

I got to the school pretty quickly. It was actually clear outside, today. It was weird, seeing Forks without the wetness from the rain blanketing the roads and buildings. I took advantage of it and just left in a blue t-shirt and cargo shorts, hoping for the best that the weather wouldn't change. I parked my car in its usual place and made my way to where my friends and I always hung out; a very wide staircase over looking the parking lot.

"T, what's up?" Caz greeted, grabbing the attention of the others. They all greeted me happily and got back to what they were doing. Apparently, Zoey was trying to write a new song, but couldn't come up with any lyrics, so everybody was pitching in.

"Oh, I got it." Emma exclaimed excitedly, making everybody turn to her, awaiting what she would say next. "Instead of 'goes' you should use 'break.'"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Reed responded, turning back to Zoey.

"Yeah, let me try that." Zoey said, getting ready to play. "Rationality breaks away when I'm with you. When I'm with you, everything seems so much more clearer. Existance is key, so stay here, baby, with me. Don't let go of us. For everything my heart does, it needs you." Her voice was really amazing. It went well with acoustic work. Caz smiled uncontrollably at how much talent his girlfriend had. I learned earlier in the week that they've been going out every since the seventh grade. That's just about five years. That's pretty crazy. Back in San Francisco, you were lucky if your relationship lasted five hours, let alone five years.

Then, the bell rang, knocking us all out of our conversations and thoughts, and back into the real world.

"Off to learn about elements...and...stuff..." I joked lightly, catching a chuckle out of Reed and Zoey, who I walked with to class. Wait, what was that? I looked over to laugh at something Reed had said, and I saw it again. The copper streak in the woods across from the school. I could feel the blood rush from my face, I tried responding to Zoey's comment, but I couldn't.

"T? Tristan? You okay?" Reed asked concernedly, nudging my shoulder to grab my attention. I grunted in response, looking at him confusedly. "You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost..." Reed said. My legs were kind of shaky from my hallucination, so I had a slight wobble in my step, but luckily nobody seemed to notice.

"Yeah, I'm just...not...well..." I admitted, hoping that they just think I'm physically ill rather than mentally.

"Do you need to go to the office or something?" Zoey asked with equal concern, stopping the three of us from taking another step.

"I'm fine...I-I feel better now." I smiled unconvincingly, but they didn't seem to notice. "Really, guys. I'm fine. Remember? Stuff...?" I chuckled lightly as I continued to walk to the class.

**T W I L I G H T**

After a few classes I couldn't even pay attention in, it was finally lunch. Couldn't wait to get a distraction from my friends with all the rampant thoughts that were going through my mind.

"So, it's Friday night. We gotta do something." Hannah said while eating one of my french fries.

"We always do something on Fridays, it's tradition." Zoey explained whilst hugging her boyfriend fondly, as if her were about to fly off. I nodded understandingly and turned back to Hannah.

"I was thinking we could go to the movies or something." Emma offered in a tiny voice as she stared down at her cell phone, texting away to God knows who.

"There's not really anything good out." Reed retorted while starting a new page in his sketch book. Reed was also pretty talented at what he did. His drawings were always so realistic and detailed. It truly was a sight.

"I got it...La Push, baby!" Caz said excitedly, gesturing with a french fry before popping it into his mouth and raising his eyebrows in triumph.

"Actually, that's perfect. The weather's nice, so it shouldn't be too cold to swim." Hannah was a little bit amazed at why she didn't think of it first, but it didn't bother her. She was the kind of person that let people have their victories at her own expense.

"Is La Push that beach place with that private school?" I asked, slightly confused at what the conversation was about. They all nodded, Zoey with a smile on her face because Caz had just hugged her closer. "Well, that's like, a thirty minute walk from my house. You guys can hang there, too." I offered, thinking back to the task the counselor gave me. Maybe, they'd be so exhausted that they had to stay over...maybe...possibly...probably not...

"Perfect! We all meet at Tristan's place!" Emma exclaimed, pulling out her cell phone, "What's your address? I gotta Mapquest it." I smirked at Emma and told her my address, which in turn, made everybody pull out their phones to put it into their phones. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

**T W I L I G H T**

"What's up, Davis?" Hannah greeted at my front door, walking into the entryway. "Nice digs." she joked lightly, grinning softly at me. "Oh, don't close the door. Reed was right behind me." Everybody decided to go home and get their beach stuff before coming here and Hannah and Reed were the first to arrive. "So, when can I meet the 'rents?" The emotions came back to me in one, huge wave. It was hard to keep my composure, but maybe it was time to tell somebody.

"Umm...they--"

"Hey, little help here?" Reed said while carrying a giant duffel bag and a guitar case. The guitar case hit my door with a soft 'bang,' but the case remained undamaged.

"What the fuck are you even doing?" I chuckled out, grabbing the duffel bag from his hands.

"What is all this crap, anyways?" Hannah asked curiously, eyeing the duffel bag.

"Well, staying the night requires A LOT of entertainment, so--"

"Wait, we didn't even ask Davis, here, if it was fine..." Hannah warned, looking back and forth between Reed and me.

"It's...fine by me." I couldn't help but smile uncontrollably. This was going according to plan...kind of...but, it's great. One night without an emotional breakdown. Let's see if I can handle that.

"Good, because I already asked my mom and told the others to do the same." Hannah smirked triumphantly, then looking back at Reed. "Where'd you get the guitar?"

"Zoey's. She asked me to bring it here because, apparently, the backseat to Caz's car is full." he explained, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, with their naked, writhing bodies." Hannah joked, causing all of us to laugh heartily.

"Looks like I came just in time to hear about naked bodies." Emma joked, walking through the still open doorway.

"Yes, but don't forget the writhing. That's important, too." I joked, causing the group to chuckle. I looked down and saw Emma was carrying a bag full of stuff, too. "Umm, you guys can go ahead and put all the stuff upstairs in my room. It's the first door on the left." I gestured toward the stairs as I grabbed Reed's duffel bag.

"Nice room, Davis. Very you." Hannah said as she walked in and placed her bag onto my bed nonchalantly before taking a seat. Everybody followed suit and I turned on the television so that we could have something to do while we were waiting for Caz and Zoey.

"Ooh, did you take that?" Emma asked as she peered over to the Polaroid posted above my bed. I nodded meekly as I remembered what I thought was in the picture. "What's with the brown smudge, though?"

"Uhh...camera problem..." I explained, not truly sure if it was the truth or not.

"Oh my, God, you're gay!" Emma exclaimed loudly, covering her mouth almost instantly. I just looked at her with fear in my eyes. Both Reed and Hannah looked at Emma with a confused look on their face.

"Umm...huh?" I asked, kind of speechless at the correct answer that flew out of her mouth.

"Umm...wow...sorry, nothing." she said, trying to make what she had burst out go away.

"You can't just say something like that and not explain." Hannah said, adjusting herself in my bed to face Emma directly.

"Uh..." she started, looking at me apologetically, "my...friend moved to San Francisco freshman year, and she told me about this gay kid at their school, Tristan Davis...and how...umm...anyway, I just put the pieces together, and I'm SOOOO sorry, Tristan. I really didn't mean to blurt something like that out.

I just stood there, my mouth agape, unable to really process everything that had just happened. "Umm...it's actually fine. I was going to tell you guys today, but I didn't think I'd go through with it...so, you kind of saved me there...Okay, so yeah...I'm _that_ Tristan Davis." I explained, not meeting any of their gazes. I just focused on nothing specific on the other side of my room as I did so.

"Wait...you also said...'and how' and then you stopped...what else went down?" Reed asked curiously, looking over at me as my gaze shifted from the wall to him.

"Ok...I was about to tell Hannah this when she came through the door...but..." I exhaled deeply, rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably. "The 'and how' part is that my parents...they...uhh..." I struggled with the entirety of it all. Talking about, telling others of it. It wasn't a comfortable feeling, at all. "They both died...my mom...she, umm, she died of breast cancer..." I looked at my friends, the look of kindness, pity, and sadness filled their eyes as I continued, "and my dad, he apparently couldn't handle it, so he...chose...to follow in my mother's footstep not two hours after she died." My voice was trembling with emotion as I tried to hold it together, and it was actually working a bit.

"Oh my, God...Tristan...I--" Hannah started, tears in her eyes, speechless on what words to respond with. Emma and Reed's reactions were roughly the same. Their mouths opened as if to say something, but then it closed after a few moments.

"I know...it's a lot to take in, but please, don't look at me any differently." I said, a sound of plead in my voice.

"What? Why would we? Hell, I'm bi, and everybody knows. It's not like we're gonna judge you for who you are." Hannah said, looking at me incredulously.

"You are? Had no idea..." I said, a small smirk on my face. Finally, I didn't feel like an outcast. They finally knew the truth. Then, I did something I honestly had no idea was possible with this atmosphere. I burst into giggles. That's right; giggles. Not chuckles, not laughter...but giggles. "You guys have no idea how good it feels that there aren't any more secrets to keep." I laughed uncontrollably as they all smirked at me, Reed even chuckled a bit.

Then, there was a knock at the front door. "Alright guys, time to go." I said, trying to keep myself from laughing again. I opened the door and greeted the couple.

"What's so funny?" Zoey asked me curiously, looking at me as I tried to stifle another laughing fit.

"Davis is gay." Hannah blurt as she walked past us and out the door, a bag of stuff in her hand. She turned back around and stuck her tongue out at me. The two looked at me, obviously curious by what she had said. "I think we can call outing Tristan an 'Emma,' what do you guys think?" she teased, gaining a scoff from her red headed counter part.

"Come on, I'll explain on the walk over." I chuckled, dragging them along.


	4. You'll Find A Way

**What's up, Twilighters? Here's another chapter to my favorite story to write about considering I'm practically in love with Jacob Black lol, but I'm not some crazy fan that will start screaming at the mention of him, I'm annoyed at those kinds of people lol. I truly apologize for not updating sooner. My grandfather was in the hospital...twice, and for a bit, the doctor's thought he only had a few days left. But, he's better now. His Parkinson's is still there, but it's not as bad as it was before the hospital. I'm hoping this cancels it out and you guys are happy because It's time we bring in Jacob, again! Now, this chapter is somewhat of a filler because I didn't really want it to be another weekend without an update. Hope you guys like it, anyway. And if you don't, review your complaints. But if you do, review your compliments. ^_^**

**Chapter 4: "You'll Find A Way [Switch & Sinden Remix]" by Santigold**

**StoicCrying – I know, I'm happy he is, too lol And I actually got the name from "Gilmore Girls" (a show I'm in love with lol) and I actually have the same kind of friends as Tristan; loud and cool. I didn't used to be that way, but they definitely influenced me to be.**

**Pace1818 – Well, that's the thing. I think love is so enrapturing, you can't help but lose yourself in it from time to time. Yes, Bella did ignore the people around her for love, but I agree that's not very realistic. I feel that you can still be completely and totally in love and still have your own persona, but that's just my opinion. As for Anna Kendrick, I love her, too. She's a great actress and I'm hoping to see bigger roles for her. =) And whoa, deja vu writing this lol**

**technowiz4309 – Wow, thank you so much. That truly means a lot. I'm glad so many people like this story, and I'm, hopefully, not going to disappoint. ^_^**

**Miss Meehan – I can't help but smile that one of my favorite authors on this site reviewed one of my stories, and I'm so happy you took the time to do so. Thank you for the support, and I'm hoping to see more from you, too lol**

**attagrl – Happy New Year to you, too! Yeah, I see it that Tristan needs, both, his friends and Jacob for him to, kind of, move forward with his life rather than linger on his tragic past. And as for Jacob clearing things up, I want it to kind of lay low at the moment because he didn't tell Bella right away, either.**

**Thank you all for reviewing! I love it when you guys do and I can't help but love you all already lol. Hope to get more feedback from each and every one of you, because I live for it. And don't be shy to call me out on stuff, like grammatical errors, out-of-character moments, stuff like that, because I want this to be a great story for everybody. =)**

**Chapter Summary: Tristan heads to the beach with his friends after coming out to all of them...sort of. Now that he has nothing huge to hide from his friends, he can now be open with them, maybe even when Jacob and his friends stop by at the beach for some football...?**

**T W I L I G H T**

We were getting close. The usual indications were there; the crisp scent of salt water and the sound of the ever-moving waves. And as my friends and I came closer to the point where wet moss met warm sand, I could feel my mood change from excited and hyper to worried and a bit afraid. This was where I saw the wolf from my hallucinations, and the memories came flooding back to me. Luckily for me, my friends were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice my sudden change.

"So, you just blurted it out?" Zoey asked Emma disbelievingly, gesturing her hands out only to further her point.

"For the last time, Zo, yes!" Emma said playfully, trying to show a little bit of frustration but failing miserably as a smile crept onto her face without warning.

"Enough, guys. We're finally here..." I said, staring out onto the sandy shore of the ocean, almost euphorically. Even if this place was the setting of a pretty life-changing event, the feeling of relaxation overwhelmed me as I stepped onto the sand.

We set up near the woods. Zoey, Hannah, and Caz immediately rush off to the open water, boards in hand. They didn't care that they were still in their school clothes. They let all of the worry go and just had fun. I always wanted to be that kind of person, but it wasn't possible. I'm not outgoing, kind of boring; a follower.

Emma and Reed stick by. Reed sits down on a splayed-out beach towel and starts strumming random chords on his guitar. Emma lays down on a towel next to him, puts on a pair of sunglasses, and relaxes. If you didn't know better, you would think she were sleeping, but I knew she was just deep in thought. God knows what it was she was thinking about. She doesn't really share much about her life. I'm not sure if it was just around me or if it was also with the others, but she was very quiet when it came to her own life.

Then, I hear a bunch of chatter behind us. I turn around and it's Jacob's friends in nothing but baggy shorts. They're all running around, throwing around a football, but they're making so much noise, Reed and Emma turn their attention to them, too. Not that it was a lot of noise, it just seemed so much more amplified with the silence around us.

"Fuckers! You were supposed to wait for me." A voice called playfully from behind a tree near the road, but I knew who it belonged to. It was Jacob's voice. He swiftly jogged his way to where his friends were and tackled one of them down, getting a few chuckles from the surrounding guys.

"You know them?" Reed asked curiously as he continued to strum away on his instrument. At this point, Emma had lost interest in the pack of guys and laid her head back down onto the towel.

"Not really." I answered honestly, trying to avoid my gaze away from Jacob, but failing miserably. Jacob was so athletic. He easily outran the others in their own game of tackle football.

As he looked over to laugh at one of his friends, I think it might have been Sam, he saw me. He seem to stop in the middle of whatever he was talking about me and smiled over at me. I smiled back sweetly and tilted my head up to acknowledge him.

"Wow, you losers are just going to sit here and NOT surf?" Hannah said, staking her surfboard into the sand.

"Can't swim, remember?" I reminded her. I was weird like that. I loved the beach, it was the most relaxing place to be, but I couldn't even swim. Not only that, but I had a phobia of open water. And by open water, I mean a body of water I can't touch the floor of or grab onto the sides of. Hell, I can't even go in the deep end of a pool with a floaty device without freaking out.

"Well, then...what's your guys' excuses?" Hannah asked as she removed her shirt, soaked with sea water, and dropped it onto a dry region of her laid out towel. I noticed that a few of Jacob's friends stopped playing almost immediately to admire her. One of them even let out a cat call. Paul, I think. Hannah turned toward the sound, and gave them a disgusted look. "Dickheads!" she called out to them, flipping them off. "Fess up, mutes." Hannah pushed on, leaning on her charcoal and crimson surfboard.

"Don't feel like it." Emma responded, Reed agreeing with her by nodding his head and grinning.

"Wusses..." Hannah teased before taking a seat on her towel. And before I knew it, I was being knocked to the ground by a strong force. I landed on my stomach with a loud 'oof' before realzing what had made me fall, or in this case; who.

"Oh, wow. I'm sooooo sorry about that." Jacob apologized frantically, a bit of amusement in his eyes. He got up and reached out a hand to help me up from the sand. At first, I hesitated to grab it because I didn't want it to seem like I wanted to touch him every chance I got. I ignored it and gave him my hand. An instant shock of electricity was transferred from his hand. But it wasn't the generic kind, though. I could feel all the nerves in my body vibrate in anticipation.

He pulled me up with what seemed like no effort at all. If I wasn't so busy brushing the sand off of my jeans, I would be admiring how built he was. Then again, there's always time for that later. "Quil passed the ball too far, and I should have watched where I was going." I just gave him a smile and shook my head as a response...why the hell can't I speak?

"You really should have, asshole." Reed insulted, getting up from where he was sitting and glaring at Jacob as he walked closer to him. I swear that Reed was about to punch Jacob. I've never seen Reed like this before. He was always quiet and passive.

"Wha—stop! What the hell, Reed?! He was _apologizing_." I shot back, now standing in between Jacob and Reed in order to stop any kind of fist fight. I looked back at Jacob. We were mere inches apart and I could feel his body heat, hotter than anybody else's body heat I've ever experienced before. He was giving Reed the same smoldering look, though. The intensity between them could start the next world war.

"He could have hella hurt you! He's fuckin' massive!" Reed defended, gesturing to the six foot-plus figure still hovering behind me.

"But he didn't, okay? Just...calm down..." I assured him calmly, but I was still angry at him for trying to pick a fight. He gave me a disbelieving look and walked off from us. I looked over at Hannah and Emma, who just stood there with the same shock I had hidden by rage.

"In the few years we've known Reed, he has _never_ been like that..." Emma informed us, still looking in the direction that Reed had walked off in.

"Look, I really am sorry." Jacob repeated, still giving me his puppy-dog eye apologetic look.

"It's...fine. And Reed's never like that...ever, so I'm not sure what the fuck happened." I said, cracking a small, half-hearted smile. I got a genuine grin from him in return, causing all of the butterflies from inside of me release into my stomach all at once.

"Alright, well...I should get back." Jacob said, gesturing behind him to his group of friends, who were keeping themselves entertained by having one-on-one wrestling matches. At the moment, it was Sam and Paul.

"Yeah, I should go find Reed, anyway." I sighed sadly as I started to turn toward Reed's direction. "Good seeing you again, though." I said, a friendly smile on my face.

"Definitely." Jacob agreed before jogging back to his friends. I got Hannah and Emma to both follow me and hopefully triple-team him to calm down.

A few minutes later, we found Reed in the woods, sitting on a large rock, his hands clasped together in frustration.

"Reed?" Hannah called out, seeming to startle him. Although, it didn't get him to face us, just to loosen up his grip.

"You know, I can fight my own battles if I have to, Reed." I joked, sitting on a log across from him. I looked around it worriedly, hoping not to be near an ant hill or anything of the sort. Phew. Nothing.

"I know, I don't—I'm not really sure why I did that..." he explained vaguely, confusion lacing his every word.

"Don't worry about it, man. Good to know you got my back." I smiled at him, making him look up at us. "Just...ease up next time." I joked again before getting off the log.

"Yeah, just beat Tristan's ass, instead." Hannah joked, causing us all to laugh.

"He could try..." I teased before leading us back to the beach, where I'm sure, the lovely couple of Zoey and Caz are waiting for us.

**T W I L I G H T**

"What?! Jesus, we miss _everything_, now!" Zoey remarked, looking slightly agitated from the situation. The rest of us, excluding Caz, just laughed knowingly.

"You really do, sweetie. It's getting kinda sad..." Emma teased, getting a playful glare from both Caz and Zoey.

As my friends continued to have conversations around a freshly-made campfire about random stuff like music, movies, and tv shows, I looked back over at where Jacob still was, but he was all alone now. He was just sitting the the ledge of a miniature cliff and was lost in his own thoughts, looking a little bit gloomy.

"I'll be right back, guys." I started walking to him. After about half a minute, he noticed me coming. He instantly perked up, making my heart flutter wildly. "You know, you don't have to be here all alone. You could come hang out with us." I offered, resting my arms on the top of the ledge Jacob was sitting on, his muscular legs hanging from it.

"That's okay. I'm sure your buddy wouldn't want me around, anyway." he joked, slightly wincing at the words that exited his mouth.

"Yeah...he actually feels bad about that. Says he's not sure what the hell happened." I explained, giving him a small grin. God, his eyes were amazing. Oh, God. No staring too intently, don't want to get punched in the face.

"Yeah...sorry about that...again..." he said the last part with a playful smirk as he looked down at me before hopping off the ledge with a loud thump onto the sand. There wasn't much of a height difference from the ledge to the ground considering he still towered over me like nobody I've ever known.

"God, you're tall..." Umm...really? I say _that_??? Out of everything else I could say, I, of course, talk about his altitude. "Ummm...how—how tall are you e—exactly?" I stumbled to say, trying to recover from such an awkward transition in conversation.

"6'7" He grinned when he saw the look of astonishment on my face.

"Wow, you must be setting a fuckin' world record there, Jake." I smirked, gladly accepting that he didn't acknowledge the awkwardness from what I had said. He laughed heartily as I just looked down at the sand shyly. Too much eye contact for me made me uncomfortable, but only with hot guys. Ever since middle school, I could never look a guy in the eye. Girls, sure...no problem. Stupid retinas...

"Davis, where you at?" Hannah called from the fire, her voice echoing throughout the entire beach, and possibly parts of the woods.

"Wait...Davis?" he asked me questioningly, to which I just nodded. "As in Allison Davis?" Jacob smirked at that for some reason. I didn't know, but I was kind of intrigued to want to know.

"Yeah, I live with her, now. She's my cousin." I explained, still wondering why it was so interesting for him.

"Just a family friend." he explained, as if he noticed my interest in his.

"Tristan!!!" Hannah called shrilly, but playfully of course. I could hear my entire group of friends snickering loudly at her voice. Nobody's voice could be like that if they were calling me normally.

"I should probably get back before she makes somebody's eardrums pop under pressure." I joked, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. "Invite's still open, Jake. I mean, we're going to be hanging out at the house later if you want to stop by." I said, hoping that he would drop by and tell me that he loved me since the first day he saw me, but I know that was just hope; a wish. Something a person makes when real life isn't satisfactory.

"Yeah...okay, maybe. I know where it is, so I'll see if I can make it." he smiled sweetly

"Sounds good. Later." I walked off with my heart doing back flips, waiting in anticipation for him to come over to my house.


	5. Never Say Never

**Alright everybody. I finally made a chapter worth posting! God, it was such a Debbie Downer to start this close-to-completed chapter all over again once I had that virus. I think I salvaged some, but the rest I had to wing it. I know you guys have been waiting absolutely forever, and I apologize. I left everybody hanging like that with all of my stories. But now, I have what you've been looking for!**

**Lt. Sarcasm: Haha I get what you mean...or at least I hope its what you mean lol**

**-emerald jaguar-: I honestly don't even know the answer to that one yet lol not sure if I want him to be a werewolf, have a crush on Tristan, both, or maybe just something new all together. I'm stuck on where I want Reed to go lol But don't worry, I'll figure it out by the time it counts.**

**Technowiz4309: Aww, thanks. I'm glad I'm one of them, you have no idea how happy that makes me! =)**

**louise2676375: I am, and thank you; I really appreciate your feedback! =)**

**attagrl: Haha sorry to tease you like that, just had to tell people that this story wasn't going to be discontinued. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**: Thank you so much! Hope you have the same reaction to this chapter also, anonymous reader with no real account**

**And thank you to everybody that favorited and alerted either me or the story. You don't know how happy that makes me when I get an email saying somebody did ANYTHING with my story lol**

**Chapter Summary: Tristan and his friends go back to his house to continue their little sleepover. Will Jacob stop by, or will he leave Tristan hanging on the very moment there is a knock at his door? And what about the day after the get together? What is on the agenda for the gang?**

**Chapter 5: "Never Say Never" by The Fray**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS...blah...blah...blah-di-blah...you've heard this all way too many times, I'm sure...**

**Enjoy!**

**T W I L G H T**

When the six of us got back to my new home, we were still as loud and disruptive as we were at the beach. Hopefully, Allie and Matt aren't home yet. I took out my cell phone to glance at the time. 9:07. Shit, they might be home already. But wait, why aren't their cars in the driveway. I looked behind me and the only car that was parked across the street was my own black SUV.

As we entered the house, I looked around for any signs that had shown that they were here even before we got back. I looked in the living room, but everything seemed to be the same. I told my friends to stay down here and to help themselves to whatever was in the fridge. Immediately, Caz went for the pantry and grabbed a box of Triscuits while Hannah went for the cans of grape soda we had stashed at the bottom of the fridge and passed one out to everybody. I headed upstairs and went to my room to see if there was a note somewhere. Almost instantaneously as I got to the top of the stairs, the air was chillier than normal. It sent shivers down my spine as I looked for the cause of the thermal discomfort. In my room, the window was wide open as chilling winds had blown straight into the room. I practically ran across my room to close it. I rubbed at my biceps, hopefully bringing some warmth to my arms. The full moon was peering in through it, big and beautiful. It was unrealistic, though. I was outside not a few minutes ago and it wasn't this cold. The wind must be picking up. Guess we got out of there just in time before the next ice age. I glanced over to my bed where everybody's overnight bags were piled onto it. Wait, where was the picture I took? It wasn't over my bed anymore. I frantically glanced around for it and found it in the dead center of the room. I went to pick it up, but noticed that wasn't the only thing there. Underneath was my picture of Jacob. They were lined up perfectly, which was weird because I thought it got blown here. Has to be some freak coincidence...right?

"Tristan, do you have any sweet food?" Reed asked me from my doorway, startling me out of thought.

I jumped slightly, and then looked over at him. "There should be some candy in the pantry and we just stocked up on a whole bunch of ice cream." I answered him, still slightly shaken at the photos.

"Perfect," he grinned widely, then looked over at what was in my hands. "Taking down your photos?"

"Uhh..." I paused, looking down at the two images, each so different from one another. One was filled with many different shades of green covering the entire picture with just that smidgen of red and brown in between the trees, speckling the background with contrast. The other was a dark picture of the moonlight shimmering off the waves that crashed into the shore almost soundlessly with Jacob's silhouette almost unnoticed by the layers of shadows near the edge of the water. So, how come if they were so different, they felt similar in a sense? "No, some freak wind blew threw here and knocked them down." I laughed and then grabbing a new roll of tape to post them back up over my bed frame.

"Yeah, you should keep them up. Your walls are so barren." Reed said while he looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time. "Didn't you have posters back at your old house?"

"Eh, not really. I had a lot of shelves on the wall, so there wasn't much room for posters." I explained as I walked over to my closet door, sliding it open to reveal what was inside as I gazed at the reflection in the mirror of the door. I looked sad. In fact, I looked borderline miserable. But did I feel miserable? Not really. I was hanging out with all of my friends here at the house, joking around and teasing one another. I don't see where I could be having a bad time. "All that stuff that was actually on those shelves are right here." I said, gesturing toward a large box in the corner of my closet, crammed behind a laundry basket and a small dresser.

"Why is there a dresser in your closet?" he smiled softly, almost inspecting the wooden furniture for flaws as his golden locks fell slightly in front of his emerald-coated eyes.

"More space for my room, and there was some room in the closet, so I just put it there to make my room more...roomier, I guess." I chuckled lightly, before leading him back to the door. "Alright, let's go get a major sugar rush on gummy bears and ice cream."

"You know, I've never heard somebody use the word 'room' so many times in one sentence." he teased as he walked out into the hallway. "I gotta say, it was a bit overwhelming."

"Shut up before you accidentally get pushed down the stairs." I joked lightly, as we walked down to where the others could be heard laughing and having a good time. He looked back at me playfully before rushing down the stairs, knowing I'd probably just scare him up a bit by nudging him softly.

I went over to the pantry and looked for the candy that Reed wanted. I found them stuck behind a canister of smoked almonds and a box of frosted cheerios.

"I have salvaged the sweets!" I called, holding the bags of random candies over my head as I continued to dig through the pantry. I could hear the others cheer loudly at it before I felt somebody snatch the bags out of my hand.

"Thanks, Tristan. You're a life-saver. Oooh, Lifesaver." she said holding up a red lifesaver from the bags. It caused the group to laugh softly at the irony. I managed to dig up a bottle of hard-shell chocolate for the ice cream and placed it on the counter. I went to the freezer and pulled out container after container of different ice creams. Vanilla, rocky road, moose tracks, cherry, dulce de leche, and mint chocolate chip. It was like a smorgasbord of ice cream on top of the dark granite counters. Everybody else looked amazed and I just glanced at them. I quickly learned it was a normal occurrence to have this much ice cream in the freezer; Matt had quite a bit of a sweet tooth.

"Holy shit, did you rob a Ben N' Jerry's, or something?!" Emma exclaimed loudly, not phasing the others as I'm sure they were thinking the exact same thing.

"In this house, it's a usual occurrence. Whoever wants some – help yourself. There are some bowls in the cabinet above the microwave and spoons under it. Caz was the first one to grab a bowl and a spoon and went for the rocky road ice cream. Then, he did something I'd never expect anybody to do. He grabbed the box of Triscuits and crumbled some up onto his bowl of ice cream. Everybody, including Zoey, was staring at him incredulously.

"What? It's the perfect balance of sweet and salty!" he defended. Reed and Emma scoffed lightly and Hannah chuckled a couple of times. "Come on, Zoe, you still love me, right? Even with Triscuits in my ice cream?" he teased, bringing a spoon of the chocolate ice cream and crumbs of snack crackers up to her mouth.

"Ew, get that away from me!" she squealed playfully before rushing across the room to get away from the God-awful concoction. Caz quickly started to chase Zoey around the kitchen with the spoon, hand underneath so it wouldn't spill, and saying random teases. "Caz, it's not even like they're regular Triscuits; they're roasted garlic!" she said forcefully before she covered her mouth up with both of her hands clasped together for extra protection.

"Fine." he stopped chasing her and put it the metal spoon into his mouth. It clanked against his teeth slightly before he encased his mouth around it. We could all hear the crunch of the crackers, making most of us cringe in disgust.

**T W I L I G H T**

We ended up watching "Jennifer's Body," "The Sweetest Thing," and "Not Another Teen Movie," before everybody passed out on the couch. In between snacks and movies, everybody went upstairs to change and grab whatever they planned on sleeping with. As the credits to the last movie rolled, I looked around at the room. I was the last one to stay awake. I was on the edge of the longer of the two couches with Hannah right next to me, her body heat making it much warmer than it really was. Zoey and Caz took the loveseat, a red blanket covering them both with Zoey snuggling into Caz's chest. Emma took the seat next to Hannah as she leaned her head toward the arm of the couch and rested her head on it, some of her blanket bunched up against her head and the arm for some cushion. Reed, on the other hand, looked somewhat disconnected. He took a recliner on the other side of the room.

At around 2 o' clock, I heard the lock to the front door jangle. It felt as if it were a blow horn in the still of the night. Luckily, the others only stirred, Hannah shifting her weight opposite of where I was. I took the opportunity to get up and greet Allie and Matt.

"God, you guys are home late." I greeted groggily as I turned on the lights to the hallway, my eyes closing instantaneously to the sudden change.

"Yeah, there was a problem at the restaurant that Allie helped me with." he smirked softly, looking over at his fiancee.

"Sex, huh?" I asked bluntly, looking at them in amusement.

"Basically, yeah." Matt answered, earning a playful slap on the arm from Allie and a tiny scoff.

"Alright. Well, we're pretty exhausted for...obvious reasons, so I'll just meet your slumber buddies in the morning." Allie gestured toward the living room where all of my friends were passed out. "I hope you raided the fridge before you guys went to sleep."

"So much so that we're going to have to ration the rest for the next few months." I teased with a serious look, gaining a small grin from Matt.

"Good, I taught you well." she said, equally unemotional. "Night, nerd." Allie said before pulling me into a small hug.

"Night Tristan." Matt said, waving at me awkwardly as he made his way up the stairs.

I made my way back to the couch and wrapped myself in the red and brown patterned quilt I was sharing with Hannah. That's when I realized that Jacob didn't show after all. In all of the excitement and fun, I had forgotten that he was supposed to be here. A wave of disappointment hit me as I reminisced on the today. I mean, he seemed to like me enough to come over. Sure, it wasn't how I wanted him to like me, but he was friendly none the less. Maybe it was just him being polite. Oh God, what if it's just him being polite? Oh, man, I must look like such a creep! Every time we saw each other, I forced him to talk to me; he never did it by himself. I mentally slapped myself at the thought of how aggressive I must have acted. He'll probably never talk to me again. Looks like I'll have to find some other infatuation.

With all the thoughts shooting off in my brain like fireworks on Independence Day, I hadn't realized my eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

**T W I L I G H T**

I woke up to the rustling of somebody moving in their spot. I'm pretty sure it was Reed because he was now slipping off the recliner, slightly. It made me laugh a little bit. I glanced over at the digital clock hanging up on the wall behind Zoey and Caz. 8:27. I got up and checked to see if Matt and Allie were still here. I wasn't sure if they were going to stay the day or not. I walked up the stairs, each creak breaking the silence of the still house. I silently opened the door to their bedroom. Yeah, they were still home. And fast asleep, which is to be expected considering they got home at two in the morning. I closed the door quietly before walking back down the stairs. I should probably get the morning paper; Matt always likes to read it in the morning. When I went to grab it, the newspaper wasn't the only thing being held by the rubber band. There was a note with my name on it in big, bold letters. The note was somewhat wet, so the rain must have poured somewhat before this morning, and as I looked around, it was confirmed. There were random spots of wet cement all along the neighborhood and lighter spots where the sun peeking ever so slightly over the gray clouds that wrapped around this miniscule town had already dried up. I went back inside and set the paper on the counter before going up into my room to read the note.

_Tristan._

_Sorry for not making it last night. Something came up, but we should go out another time when random things don't screw up my plans. Meet me at the movies next Friday around 7 and we'll watch a movie._

_Jacob._

_P.S. Your house is REALLY red. Definitely stands out from the rest of the houses around here. Guess it makes sense that you live here._

I reread that last part at least ten more times. Did he just insinuate that I was special? Original?...a freak? I wasn't too sure. All I know is that I really couldn't wait until next Friday night.


End file.
